


AO3 Ship Stats 2015

by centreoftheselights



Series: AO3 Ship Stats [5]
Category: No Fandom
Genre: AO3 Statistics, Archived From Tumblr, Archived From centrumlumina Tumblr, Fandom Statistics, Femslash Fandom, Meta Essay, Nonfiction, Racism in fandom, Research, Sexism in Fandom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2019-09-15 19:43:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16939503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/centreoftheselights/pseuds/centreoftheselights
Summary: Year Three of the AO3 Ship Stats project. This project aims to track and analyse the most popular pairings posted on AO3 over time.





	1. Top 100 List

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted 7th July 2015.

  
  
  


Summer is here again, so it’s time for the 2015 [AO3 Ship Stats](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1209645)!

This list shows the 100 most popular relationship tags on the fanworks site [Archive Of Our Own](http://archiveofourown.org/). There are 65 M/M pairings, 25 F/M, 4 F/F, 4 Gen, and 2 Other. (Please note that on AO3, ‘Name & Name’ indicates platonic relationships (Gen), while ‘Name/Name’ is used for romantic pairings.)

Of the 200 names on the list, 33 belong to women and 2 to characters of ambiguous gender - up from 29 women [this time last year](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16939224/chapters/39802950). 24 of the 200 names are POC, while 12 are characters of ambiguous race, up from 11 POC and 14 ambiguous in 2014.

Please see [the FAQ post](http://centrumlumina.tumblr.com/post/123467254599/ao3-ship-stats-2015-faq) for more information.

All the data presented in the images can be found below.

Rank Change Pairing Tag Fandom Works Type Race  
1 +1 Castiel/Dean Winchester Supernatural 43,209 M/M White  
2 -1 Sherlock Holmes/John Watson Sherlock (TV) 39,374 M/M White  
3 0 Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski Teen Wolf (TV) 34,999 M/M White  
4 0 Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson One Direction (Band) 21,658 M/M White  
5 0 Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester Supernatural 14,677 M/M White  
6 0 Merlin/Arthur Pendragon Merlin (TV) 13,337 M/M White  
7 +15 James “Bucky” Barnes/Steve Rogers Captain America (Movies) 12,337 M/M White  
8 0 Steve Rogers/Tony Stark The Avengers (Marvel Movies) 11,999 M/M White  
9 -2 Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling 11,552 M/M White  
10 0 Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel Glee 10,911 M/M Whi/POC  
11 -2 Sherlock Holmes & John Watson Sherlock (TV) 10,524 Gen White  
12 -1 Rodney McKay/John Sheppard Stargate Atlantis 8,548 M/M White  
13 0 Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier X-Men: First Class (2011) 8,544 M/M White  
14 0 Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki Supernatural RPF 7,751 M/M White  
15 +2 Clint Barton/Phil Coulson The Avengers (Marvel Movies) 7,484 M/M White  
16 +17 Levi/Eren Yeager Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan 7,207 M/M White  
17 +1 Enjolras/Grantaire Les Misérables - All Media Types 6,838 M/M White  
18 +7 Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov The Avengers (Marvel Movies) 6,751 F/M White  
19 +8 Zayn Malik/Liam Payne One Direction (Band) 6,665 M/M Whi/POC  
20 -4 Steve McGarrett/Danny “Danno” Williams Hawaii Five-0 (2010) 6,534 M/M White  
21 +7 Gabriel/Sam Winchester Supernatural 6,325 M/M White  
22 -3 James T. Kirk/Spock Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies) 6,247 M/M White  
23 -11 Jim Ellison/Blair Sandburg The Sentinel 6,090 M/M White  
24 +10 Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield The Hobbit - All Media Types 6,086 M/M White  
25 +14 Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich Shameless (US) 5,908 M/M White  
26 -2 Harry Potter/Severus Snape Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling 5,812 M/M White  
27 -7 Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones Torchwood 5,689 M/M White  
28 -2 Loki/Thor Thor (Movies) 5,653 M/M White  
29 -6 Allison Argent/Scott McCall Teen Wolf (TV) 5,645 F/M Whi/POC  
30 0 Sirius Black/Remus Lupin Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling 5,462 M/M White  
31 0 Pepper Potts/Tony Stark The Avengers (Marvel Movies) 5,446 F/M White  
32 -11 James T. Kirk/Leonard McCoy Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies) 5,440 M/M White  
33 -18 Clark Kent/Lex Luthor Smallville 5,270 M/M White  
34 +3 Mycroft Holmes/Lestrade Sherlock (TV) 4,988 M/M White  
35 -3 Loki/Tony Stark The Avengers (Marvel Movies) 4,935 M/M White  
36 -1 Frank Iero/Gerard Way My Chemical Romance 4,902 M/M White  
37 +32 Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak Arrow (TV 2012) 4,864 F/M White  
38 -9 Arthur/Eames (Inception) Inception (2010) 4,676 M/M White  
39 -3 Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter Hannibal (TV) 4,626 M/M White  
40 +11 Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan Once Upon a Time (TV) 4,594 F/F Whi/POC  
41 +16 Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan 4,156 M/M White  
42 +1 Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold Once Upon a Time (TV) 3,817 F/M White  
43 +12 Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper Sherlock (TV) 3,790 F/M White  
44 +32 Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan Once Upon a Time (TV) 3,681 F/M White  
45 N Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin The 100 (TV) 3,637 F/M Whi/POC  
46 -8 John Egbert/Dave Strider Homestuck 3,601 M/M Ambig  
47 -5 Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling 3,541 F/M White  
48 -3 Mary Morstan/John Watson Sherlock (TV) 3,501 F/M White  
49 -3 Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler Doctor Who (2005) 3,426 F/M White  
50 -3 Carlos/Cecil Palmer Welcome to Night Vale 3,351 M/M Amb/POC  
51 -2 Niall Horan/Zayn Malik One Direction (Band) 3,297 M/M Whi/POC  
52 +1 Niall Horan/Harry Styles One Direction (Band) 3,294 M/M White  
53 +6 Jane Foster/Thor The Avengers (Marvel Movies) 3,217 F/M White  
54 +17 Castiel & Dean Winchester Supernatural 3,190 Gen White  
55 -14 Daniel Jackson/Jack O'Neill Stargate SG-1 3,180 M/M White  
56 -4 Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins 3,148 F/M Whi/Amb  
57 -13 James Bond/Q Skyfall (2012) 3,140 M/M White  
58 -2 Sebastian Moran/James Moriarty Sherlock (TV) 3,048 M/M White  
59 -19 Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski due South 3,027 M/M White  
60 +6 Jessica Moore/Sam Winchester Supernatural 2,961 F/M White  
61 -11 Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore Teen Wolf (TV) 2,926 F/M White  
62 +2 Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester Supernatural 2,914 Gen White  
63 N Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford Dragon Age: Inquisition 2,894 Other Whi/Amb  
64 -4 Bruce Banner/Tony Stark The Avengers (Marvel Movies) 2,784 M/M White  
65 -17 Eleventh Doctor/River Song Doctor Who (2005) 2,715 F/M White  
66 +17 Levi/Erwin Smith Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan 2,694 M/M White  
67 -5 Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes Teen Wolf (TV) 2,692 F/M Whi/POC  
68 -5 Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling 2,691 F/M White  
69 N Nanase Haruka/Tachibana Makoto Free! 2,600 M/M POC  
70 -12 Sam Carter/Jack O'Neill Stargate SG-1 2,566 F/M White  
71 -17 Spike/Buffy Summers Buffy the Vampire Slayer 2,545 F/M White  
72 -5 Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam Homestuck 2,505 F/F Ambig  
73 -5 Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling 2,472 F/M White  
74 0 Gavin Free/Michael Jones Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF 2,468 M/M White  
75 -14 Isaac Lahey/Scott McCall Teen Wolf (TV) 2,462 M/M Whi/POC  
76 N Laura Hollis/Carmilla Karnstein Carmilla (Web Series) 2,429 F/F White  
77 +4 America (Hetalia)/England (Hetalia) Hetalia: Axis Powers 2,427 M/M White  
78 +17 Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski Teen Wolf (TV) 2,366 M/M White  
79 +10 Patrick Stump/Pete Wentz Fall Out Boy 2,330 M/M Whi/POC  
80 -6 Brian Kinney/Justin Taylor Queer as Folk (US) 2,227 M/M White  
81 N Dan Howell/Phil Lester Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF) 2,203 M/M White  
82 +2 Castiel/Sam Winchester Supernatural 2,118 M/M White  
83 +4 James Potter/Lily Evans Potter Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling 2,092 F/M White  
84 N Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio Haikyuu!! 2,085 M/M POC  
85 -6 Liam Payne/Louis Tomlinson One Direction (Band) 2,080 M/M White  
86 -1 Zayn Malik/Harry Styles One Direction (Band) 2,028 M/M Whi/POC  
87 -9 Jake English/Dirk Strider Homestuck 2,024 M/M Ambig  
88 N Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinski Teen Wolf (TV) 2,022 F/M White  
89 -19 Anthony DiNozzo/Jethro Gibbs NCIS 2,021 M/M White  
90 +10 Scott McCall/Stiles Stilinski Teen Wolf (TV) 1,996 M/M Whi/POC  
91 N Kaidan Alenko/Shepard Mass Effect 1,992 Other Amb/POC  
92 N James “Bucky” Barnes & Steve Rogers Captain America (Movies) 1,969 Gen White  
93 -2 Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas Homestuck 1,957 M/M Ambig  
94 -29 Adam Lambert/Tommy Ratliff Adam Lambert (Musician) 1,951 M/M White  
95 N Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto Naruto 1,948 M/M POC  
96 N Guinevere/Arthur Pendragon Merlin (TV) 1,920 F/M Whi/POC  
97 -24 Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce Glee 1,899 F/F Whi/POC  
98 N Matsuoka Rin/Nanase Haruka Free! 1,880 M/M POC  
99 N Skye | Daisy Johnson/Grant Ward Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV) 1,846 F/M Whi/POC  
100 -1 Newton Geiszler/Hermann Gottlieb Pacific Rim (2013) 1,819 M/M White


	2. Femslash List

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Top 100 femslash pairings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted 8th July 2015.

  
  
  


Following on from the [2015 AO3 Ship Stats](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16939503/chapters/39803838), here are the 100 most popular femslash ship tags on [Archive Of Our Own](https://archiveofourown.org/) as of July 8th 2015!

This includes the ranking compared to [last year’s top 50](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16939224/chapters/39803130), and the date at which both characters in the ship had first all appeared in that fandom. The colouring on the dates is white for the last two years (Jul 2013 onwards), light blue for 2-5 years ago (2010-2013), mid blue for 5-10 years ago (2005-2010) and dark blue for more than 10 years ago (pre-2005).

Older ships tend to have slipped down the list, as you can see from this graph, which shows a logarithmic relationship (R^2 = 24%) between the change in rank since 2014 and the years since the characters were created:

For the plaintext version of this data, check below the cut.

Rank Change Pairing Tag Fandom Works Release Date  
1 0 Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan Once Upon a Time (TV) 4,602 2011 Oct 23  
2 0 Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam Homestuck 2,506 2010 Jul 31  
3 N Laura Hollis/Carmilla Karnstein Carmilla (Web Series) 2,432 2014 Aug 19  
4 -1 Santana Lopez/Brittany S. Pierce Glee 1,901 2009 Sep 09  
5 +36 Korra/Asami Sato Avatar: Legend of Korra 1,760 2012 Apr 28  
6 +2 Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan 1,625 2010 Jan 09  
7 -3 Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray Glee 1,589 2009 May 19  
8 N Clarke Griffin/Lexa The 100 (TV) 1,426 2014 Dec 03  
9 -3 Allison Argent/Lydia Martin Teen Wolf (TV) 1,234 2011 Jun 05  
10 -5 Myka Bering/Helena “H. G.” Wells Warehouse 13 1,135 2010 Jul 06  
11 N Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli Agent Carter (TV) 963 2015 Jan 06  
12 +13 Jemma Simmons/Skye | Daisy Johnson Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV) 933 2013 Sep 24  
13 +6 Delphine Cormier/Cosima Niehaus Orphan Black (TV) 887 2013 Apr 27  
14 N Root/Sameen Shaw Person of Interest (TV) 856 2013 Feb 21  
15 -8 Maura Isles/Jane Rizzoli Rizzoli & Isles 801 2010 Jul 12  
16 -2 Anna/Elsa (Frozen) Frozen (2013) 787 2013 Nov 27  
17 +5 Mikasa Ackerman/Annie Leonhart Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan 750 2009 Oct 09  
18 -8 Gwen/Morgana (Merlin) Merlin (TV) 659 2008 Sep 20  
19 -10 Tara Maclay/Willow Rosenberg Buffy the Vampire Slayer 650 1999 Dec 14  
20 -9 Pepper Potts/Natasha Romanov The Avengers (Marvel Movies) 646 2010 May 07  
21 -9 Chloe/Beca Mitchell Pitch Perfect (Movies) 633 2012 Dec 21  
22 -2 Miranda Priestly/Andrea Sachs The Devil Wears Prada (2006) 552 2006 Oct 05  
23 -8 Terezi Pyrope/Vriska Serket Homestuck 545 2010 Jul 10  
24 -11 Faith Lehane/Buffy Summers Buffy the Vampire Slayer 523 1998 Oct 13  
25 +6 Sansa Stark/Margaery Tyrell Game of Thrones (TV) 486 2012 Apr 15  
26 -9 Quinn Fabray/Santana Lopez Glee 462 2009 May 19  
27 -9 Jane Crocker/Roxy Lalonde Homestuck 452 2012 Jan 15  
28 -5 Female Shepard/Liara T'Soni Mass Effect 446 2007 Nov 20  
29 -13 Kahlan Amnell/Cara Mason Legend of the Seeker 412 2009 May 23  
30 -9 Rachel Berry/Santana Lopez Glee 390 2009 May 19  
31 +17 Maria Hill/Natasha Romanov Marvel Cinematic Universe 389 2012 May 04  
32 N Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long RWBY 387 2013 Jul 25  
33 -9 Kanaya Maryam/Vriska Serket Homestuck 379 2010 Jul 31  
34 N Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee RWBY 369 2013 Jul 25  
35 -8 Bo/Lauren Lost Girl 361 2010 Sep 12  
36 -1 Female Hawke/Isabela Dragon Age II 348 2011 Mar 08  
37 N Laura Hollis/Danny Lawrence Carmilla (Web Series) 344 2014 Aug 21  
38 -13 Cosette Fauchelevent/Éponine Thénardier Les Misérables - All Media Types 337 1985 Oct 08  
39 N Malia Tate/Kira Yukimura Teen Wolf (TV) 325 2014 Jan 06  
40 N Gail Peck/Holly Stewart Rookie Blue 320 2013 Aug 01  
41 +6 Cora Hale/Lydia Martin Teen Wolf (TV) 318 2013 Jun 10  
42 N Nyssa al Ghul/Sara Lance Arrow (TV 2012) 307 2014 Feb 05  
43 N Charlie Bradbury/Jo Harvelle Supernatural 306 2012 Apr 27  
44 -16 Sam Carter/Janet Fraiser Stargate SG-1 302 1997 Aug 15  
45 -8 Princess Bubblegum/Marceline Adventure Time 296 2010 May 17  
46 -16 Alicia Florrick/Kalinda Sharma The Good Wife (TV) 293 2009 Sep 22  
47 -18 Arizona Robbins/Calliope “Callie” Torres Grey’s Anatomy 290 2009 Jan 08  
48 N Kaiou Michiru/Tenoh Haruka Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon 286 2000 Jun 06  
49 -17 Ashlyn Harris/Ali Krieger Women’s Soccer RPF 283 2013 Mar 11  
50 -17 Gabrielle/Xena Xena: Warrior Princess 277 1995 Sep 04  
51 -5 Jenny Flint/Madame Vastra Doctor Who (2005) 272 2011 Jun 04  
52 -10 Belle/Red Riding Hood | Ruby Once Upon a Time (TV) 271 2012 Feb 12  
53 -19 Jade Harley/Rose Lalonde Homestuck 258 2009 Oct 15  
54 -4 Jennifer “JJ” Jareau/Emily Prentiss Criminal Minds 256 2006 Nov 15  
55 -19 Irene Adler/Molly Hooper Sherlock (TV) 251 2012 Jan 01  
56 -17 Aurora/Mulan Once Upon a Time (TV) 247 2012 Sep 30  
57 N Dorothy Baum/Charlie Bradbury Supernatural 241 2013 Oct 29  
=58 N Brenda Leigh Johnson/Sharon Raydor The Closer 240 2009 Jun 22  
=58 -18 Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling 240 2003 Jun 21  
60 N Tori Vega/Jade West Victorious 239 2010 Mar 27  
61 -23 Tobin Heath/Alex Morgan Women’s Soccer RPF 236 2010 Mar 31  
62 -14 Akemi Homura/Kaname Madoka Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica 233 2011 Jan 06  
=63 N Meenah Peixes/Aranea Serket Homestuck 229 2012 Mar 26  
=63 N Piper Chapman/Alex Vause Orange is the New Black 229 2013 Jul 11  
65 N Beth Childs/Alison Hendrix Orphan Black (TV) 221 2013 Apr 06  
66 N Karma Ashcroft/Amy Raudenfeld Faking It (TV 2014) 216 2014 Apr 22  
67 -24 Hermione Granger/Ginny Weasley Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling 214 1997 Jun 26  
68 N Female Inquisitor/Josephine Montilyet Dragon Age: Inquisition 213 2014 Nov 18  
69 N Katniss Everdeen/Johanna Mason Hunger Games Series - All Media Types 212 2009 Sep 01  
70 N Olivia Benson/Alexandra Cabot Law & Order: SVU 208 2000 Oct 20  
71 N Darcy Lewis/Natasha Romanov The Avengers (Marvel Movies) 205 2011 May 06  
=72 N Kate Bishop/America Chavez Young Avengers 201 2013 Jan 23  
=72 N Leliana/Female Warden Dragon Age: Origins 201 2009 Nov 03  
74 -29 Anna Milton/Ruby Supernatural 200 2008 Nov 13  
=75 N Pacifica Northwest/Mabel Pines Gravity Falls 199 2012 Aug 10  
=75 N Aurora/Maleficent Maleficent (2014) 199 2014 May 28  
77 N Lightning/Oerba Yun Fang Final Fantasy XIII 192 2009 Dec 17  
78 N Sara Lance/Felicity Smoak Arrow (TV 2012) 187 2012 Oct 24  
79 -35 Willow Rosenberg/Buffy Summers Buffy the Vampire Slayer 184 1997 Mar 10  
80 N Lydia Martin/Erica Reyes Teen Wolf (TV) 179 2012 Jun 11  
81 N Carmilla Karnstein/Danny Lawrence Carmilla (Web Series) 176 2014 Aug 21  
=82 N Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel Batman - All Media Types 175 1992 Sep 11  
=82 N Clarke Griffin/Raven Reyes The 100 (TV) 175 2014 Mar 26  
84 N Laura Hollis/Carmilla Karnstein/Danny Lawrence Carmilla (Web Series) 173 2014 Aug 21  
85 N Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Red Riding Hood | Ruby Once Upon a Time (TV) 168 2011 Oct 23  
86 N Bo/Tamsin Lost Girl 165 2013 Jan 13  
87 N Jo Harvelle/Anna Milton Supernatural 161 2008 Nov 13  
88 N Amagi Yukiko/Satonaka Chie Persona 4 158 2008 Jul 10  
=89 N Ziva David/Abby Sciuto NCIS 157 2005 Sep 20  
=89 N Morgana/Morgause (Merlin) Merlin (TV) 157 2009 Nov 14  
=91 N Miki Sayaka/Sakura Kyouko Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica 156 2011 Feb 03  
=91 N Camila Cabello/Lauren Jauregui Fifth Harmony (Band) 156 2012 Oct 03  
93 N Calliope/Roxy Lalonde Homestuck 154 2012 Jun 19  
94 N Charlie Bradbury/Gilda Supernatural 153 2013 Jan 23  
=95 N Clara/Harry Watson Sherlock (TV) 151 2010 Jul 25  
=95 N Erica Davidson/Franky Doyle Wentworth (TV) 151 2013 May 01  
97 N Kim Possible/Shego Kim Possible (Cartoon) 150 2002 Jun 14  
=98 N Kelley O'Hara/Hope Solo Women’s Soccer RPF 149 2010 Mar 31  
=98 N Hermione Granger/Pansy Parkinson Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling 149 1997 Jun 26  
=100 N Annabeth Chase/Piper McLean Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan 143 2010 Oct 12  
=100 N Naomi Campbell/Emily Fitch Skins (UK) 143 2009 Jan 22  
=100 N Kiryuuin Satsuki/Matoi Ryuuko Kill la Kill 143 2013 Oct 03


	3. FAQ

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FAQs to accompany this year's list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted 7th July 2015.

Since this is my third year on the [AO3 ship stats](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1209645) project, here are some FAQs from past years to accompany [this year’s list](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16939503/chapters/39803838).

**What do all of the columns on the chart mean?**

Rank - The ranking of this pairing out of all of the pairings on AO3, listed by number of works tagged with that pairing. 1 is the most frequently tagged pairing, 10 is the tenth most, etc.

Change - The change in rank between this year’s top 100 and [last year’s top 100](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16939224/chapters/39802950). Positive numbers mean the pairing has moved up the list, negative mean it has moved down. N indicates that this is a new pairing which was not in last year’s top 100.

Pairing Tag - The pairing tag being considered. Because AO3 has a tag heirarchy, this includes all tags which the site considers synonymous to or sub-sets of the main tag.

Fandom - The fandom most frequently tagged in association with the pairing tag.

Works - The number of fanworks (typically fanfics) tagged with that pairing, as of July 7th 2015.

Type - The genders of the characters/people involved in the relationship. M indicates male, F female. Other is used for characters of ambiguous gender. Gen indicates that the tag is for a platonic or familial relationship, not a romantic one (indicated on AO3 by an & symbol).

Race - The races of the characters/people involved in the pairing. Whi indicates white, amb or ambig indicates ambiguous, POC indicates person/people of colour.

**How is the race category determined?**

The categories for race have changed slightly since last year, and thus some characters have moved category. The current definitions are below.

White - Any character/person described as white and/or portrayed on-screen by a white actor. (Please note that this includes ethnically Jewish characters/people, such as Erik Lehnsherr or Adam Lambert. This is due to the limitations of the White/POC categorisation system.)

POC - A character/person described as a person of colour (black, Asian, Latin@, mixed race, etc.) and/or portrayed on-screen by an actor of colour.

POCs in the top 100 are: Bellamy Blake, Blaine Anderson, Carlos, Guinevere, Hinata Shouyou, Kageyama Tobio, Kaidan Alenko, Matsuoka Rin, Nanase Haruka (2 pairings), Pete Wentz, Regina Mills, Santana Lopez, Scott McCall (3 pairings), Skye/Daisy Johnson, Tachibana Makoto, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Vernon Boyd, Zayn Malik (3 pairings).

Ambiguous race - A character whose race is not described or is stated to be ambiguous, characters of non-human races, video game characters whose race can be chosen or changed by the player, and/or characters whose race varies between adaptations of the work. Please note that real people cannot be racially ambiguous.

Racially ambiguous characters in the top 100 are: Cecil Palmer, Dave Strider (2 pairings), Dirk Strider, Inquisitor, Jake English, John Egbert, Kanaya Maryam, Karkat Vantas, Katniss Everdeen, Rose Lalonde, Shepard.

**How was this data gathered?**

The raw data was collected from AO3 using a web-scraping program of my own design. All of the data collected is publicly available to any user of the site. In order to reduce the risk of errors in the collection, the data-gathering process was repeated three times, and the top 130 pairings were then checked again to verify rankings.

The data has been processed in order to remove duplicates, synonyms, non-specific tags and tags involving original characters only. Data on gender and race was copied from last year’s list or added by hand.

**What point are you trying to make?**

Although I have many opinions on what this data shows, the list post is intended to be strictly factual, and all the information presented is indepently verifiable. You are welcome to draw your own conclusions from the data in combination with your own experiences.

However, if you wish to know my own opinions on the statistics of fandom popularity I have produced in the past, please see my essays [Misogyny?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16911123/chapters/39731508) and [Why M/M?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16976958)


End file.
